What to get in new system

[Niwashi]

I'm planning on buying a new PC, and I'm trying to decide on the configuration specs for it.

(This one, from iBuyPower: http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=299)

My biggest problem is in deciding on what to select for the power supply and processor cooling. There's quite a few options for both, and while their "Help me choose" link will give specs for each, it doesn't give any help for determining what specs I would need in order to power & cool the system as it's configured.

Anyway, here's the specs I have so far. The features themselves from the configuration page are listed in black. (And I went ahead and listed all of them, whether they're relevant to my main questions or not.) My own comments are in blue, and my questions in red.

Case:

Thermaltake Xaser VI Gaming Case w/420W Power Supply Black/Red

Case Lighting:

None

Power Supply:

????

Here's the first of my main questions. They offer 15 different power supplies for this system, ranging from 720 to 1250 Watts. (Prices differ by $200 between the cheapest and most expensive.) But I don't know how to determine how much power I need to run the system.

????

Processor:

[=== Quad Core ===] Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Processor QX9770 (4x 3.2GHz/12MB L2 Cache/1600FSB)

Free Software/Game:

Free Game - [scions of Fate]

Free Game - [Anarchy Online]

Free Game - [Halo 2] must purchase with Microsoft Windows Vista operation system

Processor Cooling:

????

My second question is similar to the first. They're both about how do I determine what the system is going to need. In the case of cooling options, they offer eight options with a price range of $122. Here, although they provide some specs for each, they're different specs, and I can't even figure out which ones are better or worse than others. But even if I did know which systems did a better job of cooling, how would I know in advance how much cooling my machine is going to need?

????

Motherboard:

Asus Striker II Extreme nForce® 790i Ultra SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB

Memory:

2048MB [1024MB X2] DDR3-1333 PC3 10666 Memory Module

[Note: I will probably be upgrading this, but Newegg has it at better prices than iBuyPower.]

Video Card:

NVIDIA GeForce 9800GTX 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video

Video Card Brand:

=== High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA

Hard Drive:

500 GB HARD DRIVE [serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]

2nd Hard Drive:

None

[Note: I will be moving the hard drive from my old PC to be a secondary hard drive on the new PC. (It's the simplest way to transfer all my files.) Then I expect that in a few years (when the size of apps goes up another order of magnitude) I'll be adding a third hard drive as a space expansion. So the power supply needs to support several hard drives.]

External Hard Drives [uSB 2.0/eSATA]:

None

CD/DVD Drive:

None

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive:

[** Special !!! ***] 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black

Sound Card:

Creative Lab Sound Blaster X-Fi ExtremeGamer

Speaker System:

600W PMPO 3 PCS Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System

Network Card:

Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Floppy Drive:

Mitsumi 1.44 MB Internal Floppy Drive Black

Monitor:

None

2nd Monitor:

None

Keyboard:

Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard

Mouse:

Logitech Optical Internet Mouse Black

USB 2.0 Accessories:

None

Meter Display:

Thermal Temperature LCD Display Black

Flash Media Reader/Writer:

12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black

Extras:

None

Operation System:

Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) 64-Bit

[Note: Actually, I'm still debating between Home Premium and Ultimate. Definitely 64-bit, though.]

Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner:

None

Additional Software:

None

Case Round Cable:

????

Just a minor question on this one. They offer a couple of $19 options that I don't really know what they're for. I could get rounded cables for all the drives. Why? What do rounded cables do for me? And for $19 I could get "Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower". Professional wiring as opposed to what? I doubt they have amateurs to put these things together otherwise.

????

USB Flash Drive:

None

MP3 Player:

None

TV Tuner:

None

Video Camera:

None

Headset:

=== Gaming Headset === Zalman 5.1 Channel ZM-RS6F+M Headset w/Mic

Power Protection:

** iBUYPOWER Recommended ** Opti-UPS SS1200-AVR Mighty Voltage Regulator

External Wireless Network Adapter:

None

Wireless Network Access Point/Router:

None

Warranty:

Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support

Rush Service:

No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days

Well, as you could probably guess from some of those specs, one of the purposes for the system is gaming. It's also for bookkeeping, drawing/artwork, language study, programming, and a number of other things, but gaming is the most demanding on the system, so it's what I look at for choosing specs.

I'm planning on keeping the system for quite a while (at least 5 or 6 years - or hopefully just some minor component upgrades can stretch that out even longer). That means that I want to get a system that will be able to play whatever games will be coming out 4 or 5 years from now. Given the rate of change in computers, that's a challenge, and the only way I can think to do it is to buy a system that's deliberately overpowered for my current needs. (The computer I'm using now was Dell's highest-end top-of-the-line system five years ago when I bought it, and I upgraded the memory a couple years later. Now, even at minimum graphics settings, it really struggles to get through Lord of the Rings Online.)

Any comments/suggestions would be welcome regarding which components really need to be maxed out in order to get that longevity versus which ones I could go a bit cheaper on and easily upgrade later. (My experience with hardware upgrades is limited to adding hard drives and upgrading memory. I could upgrade other components, but wouldn't want the hassle of dealing with ones that have a lot of compatability issues with the rest of the system.) I'm figuring the case and the motherboard have the most to do with how readily upgradable the system will be later. So those and the processor itself would determine how long the system as a whole would last me before needing to replace it completely. Does that sound right? But then I also wanted significant components like the video card to last a while before needing an upgrade, so I went fairly high-end there, too. (And a few extras I threw in just for fun - I don't really need that headset.)

Edited June 4, 2008 by Niwashi

[Zxian]

To answer your question about power supplies, let me put it to you this way - ALL the PSU calculators out there overestimate horribly. If you look at my workstation here (although now running Asus Maximus Formula SE and Q6700), the total peak power draw, when stressing the CPU and 8800GT (haven't found a way of stressing the second video card as well) is less than 300W. That's a quad core CPU, high end motherboard, and two graphics cards. I have yet to see a system with a single CPU and single graphics card draw more than 400W from the wall.

My recommendations for the PSU would be the Corsair HX620 or the Enermax Modu82+ 625W. Both of them would run very quietly with the setup you've specified.

As for cooling, the best air-based cooling solution is the ThermalRight Ultra-120 Extreme (aka TRUE). I've got it on my CPU, and my load temperatures never go above 44C with a mere 500RPM fan installed on the heatsink. I'm guessing that you'll probably be able to run your CPU at 50C at load with a slightly higher speed fan. Your other option would be to go with watercooling, but judging from your questions, that's a venture you should only take when you're a bit more experienced with system building. Get the TRUE and a Scythe Slipstream 800RPM fan (run it at full speed - they're still deathly quiet), and you'll be laughing.

If I may be so blunt... that case is horrible (and far overpriced). I can see the asthetics aspect of it, but actually installing the system in there and making it neat (which helps airflow - which helps lower temperatures) is going to be a royal pain in the butt. Not to mention, the top 140mm fan is restricted by the shaped mesh on top. Simple rule with fans - the less stuff you have infront and behind them, the more air they move. In my file server, I've completely removed the fan grilles from the rear exhausts to maximize airflow. It's not like I go sticking my fingers back there anyways.

One very popular case right now is the Antec P182. The P180 that it was based off was designed by Mike Chin over at SilentPCReview.com. The case was designed with good cooling and low noise in mind, and has achieved just that. There's no reason why you can't have your gaming PC, and not go deaf because of it. Heck, even with a case like the Antec 900 (which is what I use) you should be able to get a very quiet system going.

Are you planning on running SLI? If so, I'd recommend against it, since the performance gains are negligible at best and definitely not worth the price. That being said, I'd recommend a good Intel chipset over the nVidia 790. You can get a VERY good motherboard for your system while spending half of the $450 of the Striker II. The ASUS P5K3 Deluxe would suit your needs quite well, and save you a lot of coin. Sure, it's not the latest and the greatest, but it'll run every Intel CPU up until Nehalem processors are released. You'll still have plenty of upgrading room in the future, as it supports DDR3 and PCIe 2.0.

If you're going for an aftermarket sound card, don't get the Creative ExtremeGamer. Take the money you've just saved from your motherboard and move up to either the ASUS D2/D2X or the Auzentech Prelude. Both are much higher quality, and have proper driver support. Just search the web a bit, and you'll hear about the recent horror stories regarding Creative drivers.

Thermal temperature display - gimmicky and unnecessary. After you install all of your hardware, there shouldn't be a need to constantly monitor your temeratures. If you have adequate cooling while you're stress testing your system, you should never have to worry about it again.

Rounded cables - that used to apply for the old PATA cables, but isn't really a concern with modern SATA drives. Don't bother.

As a final thought... the whole system from iBuyPower is horribly overpriced. I would highly recommend that you build the system yourself (you'd get better parts than what they're offering) and you'll save yourself a lot of money as well. Except for the installation of the CPU, there isn't really much that can go wrong. Connectors are dummy-proofed, and as long as you read the manuals that come with the various parts, the installation is more or less straightforward. You'd of course be more than welcome to ask questions here about the actual assembly. You'd also have the option of getting the Q9400, which would save you upwards of $600. Trust me when I say, you won't notice a difference performance-wise between the Q9400/P5K3 and the Q9770/StrikerII, while you will feel it financially.